Selective ip address allocation for probes that do not have assigned ip addresses

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for managing communication in an IF network between a server and a probe that does not maintain an IP address, by selectively restricting which IP addresses that are identified, as active in the network may be borrowed for the probes. Restriction of IP addresses may include a black list to exclude specific IP addresses, a white list from which IP addresses can be drawn or both. This permits control over which IP addresses may be borrowed by probes, reducing false alarms, alerts or other network concerns caused by unexpected IP traffic on a particular IP address in the network.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to network testing and measurement in IPaddressable networks, and in particular to selectively including orexcluding some of the network's IP addresses for use by probes, whichotherwise do not maintain IP addresses.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a system of probes that are distributed throughout a network but donot have assigned IP addresses, a server controls the probes over an IPnetwork using a protocol that rides on top of the IP layer. The systemborrows (or spoofs) IP addresses of devices in the network and uses theborrowed IP addresses for communication with, and management of, theprobes.

For some customers; however, there are IP addresses in their networksthat should not be borrowed. For example, the presence of IP traffic onsome specific IP addresses in the customer's network may falsely triggeralerts or other concerns within the network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure describes a system that can he configured torestrict the IP addresses that can be borrowed from the network. In thismanner, a system according to the present disclosure may a void falselytriggering alerts or other concerns associated with IP traffic onparticular IP addresses in a customer's network.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for managingcommunication in an IP network between a server and a probe that doesnot maintain an IP address. The method comprises: providing a first listfor storing IP addresses for borrowing by the probe; providing a secondlist for storing at least one of a black list of IP addresses to excludefrom the first list, and a white list of all IP addresses permitted onthe first list; identifying active IP addresses in the network that aredownstream of the probe; in response to identifying active IP addresses,updating the first list with the identified active IP addresses inaccordance with the second list; selecting an IP address from the firstlist; and assigning the selected IP address to the probe forcommunication with the server on top of the IP protocol.

A further embodiment of the present disclosure provides a system formanaging communication in an IP network comprising: a probe that doesnot maintain an IP address in the network; and a server including: afirst list for storing IP addresses for borrowing by the probe; a secondlist for storing at least one of a black list of IP addresses to excludefrom the first list and a white list of all IP addresses permitted onthe first list; and non-transitory computer executable instructions for:updating the first list in accordance with the second list when anactive IP address downstream of the probe is identified, selecting an IPaddress from the first list; and assigning the selected IP address tothe probe for communication with the server on top of the IP protocol.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method forcontrolling the communications in an IP network between a server and oneor more probes that do not have assigned IP addresses, the methodcomprising: providing a communication means between the server and theprobes based on a protocol that rides on top of the IP protocol using IPaddresses that are borrowed from IP addresses used for communication onthe network; providing the server with a control system comprising;means to monitor automatically the network in order to collect active IPaddresses that are used on the network; means to form a list of activeIP addresses for each, probe for use in communication between the serverand the probes: means to drop an IP address from the list of active IPaddresses should it become an invalid IP address for communication onthe network and wherein: the control system is provided with an excludelist of IP addresses and; means to drop from any list of active IPaddresses any IP address that is on the exclude list and; means toprevent adding an IP address that is on the exclude list to the list ofactive IP addresses for the probes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference tothe following figures:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment inwhich embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the network environment of FIG. 1including an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the network environment of FIG. 1including another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example process of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While preferred embodiments may be illustrated or described, they arenot intended to limit the invention. Rather, numerous changes includingalternatives, modifications and equivalents may be made as would beunderstood by the person skilled in the art. As always, the invention isdefined by the appended claims.

The system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example network environmentin which an embodiment of the present disclosure could be implemented.The system 100 automatically monitors the network, from time to timecollecting and recording active IP addresses. System 100 includes aserver 110 for communication with probes 120 ₁ to 120 _(n) (collectivelyor individually 120) and devices 130 ₁ to 130 _(m) (collectively orindividually 130) over an IP network (not illustrated). Commands 140 aresent on top of the IP layer from the server 110 to the probes 120, andresponses 150 return from the probes 120 to the server 110.Communications 160 are also relayed, between the probes 120 and thedevices 130. Communications 160 between the server 110 and devices 130may also be relayed through the probes 120. The probes 120 do not haveIP or MAC addresses and therefore are not addressable devices in thenetwork. This permits the probes 120 to be essentially invisible to thenetwork operator and reduces the number of addressable devices to bemanaged. The system 100 borrows IP and MAC addresses in the network toroute packets between the server 110 to the probes 120.

The network comprises any network that supports IP communications at thenetwork layer and includes any network elements and features found in amodern IP network. None of the nature, structure or function of thenetwork is intended to limit the present disclosure.

The server 110 may be a packet routing engine or any other server thatcommunicates with and manages probes 120 in an IP network. The server110 commands and controls the probes 120. For example, the server 110may route packets that the probes 120 send back for analysis andtroubleshooting. In some embodiments, the server 110 may comprise asealed network appliance such as a switch or router. In someembodiments, the server 110 may comprise a standard computing serverthat can be configured by a set of computer executable instructionsstored in a non-transitory memory accessible by the standard computingserver to operate an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1illustrates a single server 110 in communication with a plurality ofprobes 120 and downstream devices 130; however other systemconfigurations are also possible including a distributed serverconfiguration. In some embodiments, multiple servers 110 are presentwhere each probe 120 is controlled by only one server 110 at any giventime. When a probe 120 is controlled by a sever 110, it can be describedas owned by that server 110.

The probes 120 can be any probes in an IP network. They may beconfigured to identify certain types of customer network packets andsend them back to a central location for analysis. For example, acustomer out near the edge of the network may be receiving a videostream that appears degraded while the same video stream appears finecloser to the core of the network. Using probes 120 to retrieve packetsmay avoid dispatching technicians to retrieve those packets, This isonly one example of a function of a probe 120; the invention may manageany kinds of probes 120 Including remote probes and software probes. Theprobes 120 may be near or far from the server 110 in the network. Eachprobe 120 can identify a plurality of devices 130 in the network thatare downstream of the probe 120. In some embodiments, the probes 120 maycommunicate with the sever 110 but not communicate directly with thedevices 130. A probe 120 does not maintain a unique IP address withinthe system 100; rather, it borrows or spoofs an IP address of a device130 that is downstream of that probe. No new IP addresses are allocatedin the network when a probe 120 is assigned an IP address; rather, theprobe 120 borrows an IP address of an active device 130 that has beenidentified in the network downstream of the probe 120. The probe 120borrows the IP address of this downstream active device 130 forcommunication with the server 110 and intercepts communications from theserver 110 sent to the borrowed IP address but intended for the probe120. In this manner, the server 110 ears issue a command 140 to aspecific probe, e.g. 120 ₁ using the IP addresses borrowed by the probe120 ₁ and the command 140 may he correctly routed to that probe 120 ₁through the IP network. The probe 120 ₁ will then intercept the command140 from the server 110 on the way to the device 130 ₁, and process it.In some embodiments, the probe 120 ₁ identifies which packets arecommands 140 to be intercepted based on a unique pattern and/or a probeID that is stored in the UDP paylosd of packet comprising the command140.

The device 130 can be any device that has an IP address in the network.For non-limiting example, a device 130 may comprise a switch, renter,server, access point, terminal, consumer computer or any other networkaddressable components found in an IP network. None of the nature,structure or function of devices 130 is intended to limit the presentdisclosure.

Commands 140 sent by the server 110 to the probes 120 and responses 150send by the probes 120 and received by the server 110 ride on top of theIP layer. The commands 140 and responses 150 may comprise data packetsor other IP network messages. In some embodiments, to initiatecommunication between a server 110 and a probe 120, keeping in mind thatthe probes 120 are not directly addressable in the network, the customerspecifies die address of a device 130 that the customer knows will be onthe downstream side of the probe 120 from the server 110. A probe 120,when not owned by a server 110, awaits receipt of a command 140 thatcomprises a discovery packet from, a server 110. The server 110 sendsthe discovery packet ostensibly destined for a device 130 downstream ofthe un-owned probe 120 with the intent to take ownership of the probe120. The probe intercepts the discover packet command 140 and sends aresponse 150 to the server 110 by using the source address of thecommand 140. After receiving the response 150, the server 110 takesownership of the probe 120 since it then has a rentable address that hasbeen confirmed can reach the probe 120.

Although it is possible, it is not necessary for the server 110 orprobes 120 to communicate directly with the devices 130. The server 110addressed the command 140 to the device 130, but intended for thecommand 140 to be intercepted by the probe 120 and not be delivered tothe device 130. When the probe 120 recognizes the command 140, the probe120 will remove the command 140 from the network. In some embodiments,an initial command 140 comprising a discovery packet may also bereceived by the downstream destination device 130.

In some embodiments, an IP address is assigned to a probe 120 by theserver 110. The server 110 sends a command 140 to the probe 120 with adestination address set to the IP address selected by the server 110from the active IP address list 170 (described below). The probe 120intercepts and processes the command 140, borrows the IP address forcommunication and sends an ACK response 150 to the server 110 with theborrowed IP address as the source address. Use server 110 receives andprocesses the ACK response 150. Part of the ACK response 150 may includeam or more new active IP addresses seen in the network by the probe 120.The server 110 records these new active IP addresses in the active IPaddress list 170 in association with the probe 120 that sent the ACKresponse 150.

Communications 160 include any communications to and from the devices130 within the network. These communications 160 may be monitored ortracked by probes 120 for analysis or may be sent back to the server 110for analysis. The nature, function and structure of commands 160 is notintended to limit the present disclosure.

An active IP address list 170 contains lists of active IP addresses ofdevices 130 ₁ to 130 _(m) that are downstream of each probe 120 ₁ to 120_(n). IP addresses stored in these lists may be borrowed by the probe120 for communication with the server 110 on top of the IP protocol. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, devices 130 ₁ (assigned IP address A) and 130 ₂(assigned IP address B) are downstream of probe 120 ₁. Usingcommunications 160, for example, probe 120 ₁ may identify IP addresses Aand B from devices 130 ₁ and 130 ₂ as active IP addresses. A subsequentresponse 150 from probe 120 ₁ to server 110 would identity IP addressesA and B as active relative to probe 120 ₁. In some embodiments,responses 150 may identify all active IP addresses or only newly activeIP addresses. Upon receiving a response 150 containing these IPaddresses, server 110 would update the active IP address list 170 toindicate that IP addresses A and B are active and downstream of probe120 ₁, if that information was not already present in the active IPaddress list 170.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the active IP address list 170 is a singlelist of IP addresses in the network and that list 170 is maintained byserver 110; the association of each active IP address with specificprobes 120 in not illustrated. The active IP address list 170 may bedivided into separate lists for each probe 120 ₁ to 120 _(n). Theseparated lists may be maintained on the server 110, maintainedindividually on each probe 120, or elsewhere in the system 100.

The active IP address list 170 is used to assign active IP addressesbreach probe 120 for communication over the network. The active IPaddress list 170 is maintained in case the IP address currently borrowedfor communication by a probe 120 becomes invalid in the network. If aborrowed IP address becomes invalid, a new IP address is automaticallyselected from the list 170. No customer interaction, or configuration isnecessary for the operation, of system 100. An IP address may becomeinvalid in the network for any number of reasons, for non-limitingexample, a device 130 may be disconnected from the network or assignedto a different IP address, or the route between the server 110 and probe120 may be severed and a backup route may take over that no longerroutes packets through 120.

Turning now to FIG. 2, an example embodiment of the present invention isillustrated within system 200. To the extent that identical componentsof FIG. 1's system 100 are illustrated in system 200, description ofthose components will not be repeated.

In FIG. 2, a server 210 having an active IP address list 270 and asecond list 250 is included in system 200. Server 210 operates similarto server 110; however, it modifies the active IP address list 270 inaccordance with the second list 280 to allow the customer to restrictthe IP addresses In its network that can be used, by system 200. Byrestricting which IP addresses can be used by system 200, the customercan control which IP addresses will or will not be subject to additionalIP traffic between the server 210 and the probes 120. The second liststores at least one of a black list of IP addresses to exclude from thefirst list and a white list of all IP addresses permitted on the firstlist. The customer can thus build an IP address black list and/or whitelist to control IP address use by the system 200. Restricting which IPaddresses will carry the system's IP traffic can reduce false alarms,alerts or other network monitoring concerns caused by unexpected IPtraffic on particular IP addresses. The system 200 can prevent placingadditional IP traffic on a device that cannot, or was not intended tocarry such a load of IP traffic. Beyond assisting the customer to avoidgenerating falsely suspicious IP traffic, restricting which IP addressescan be used by system 200 provides the customer with greater controlover the design and use of its network which can improve the throughputand efficiency of a network employing system 200.

The active IP address list 270 is similar to active address list 170;however, active IP address list 270 is modified in accordance with thesecond list 280 in order to allow the customer to restrict the IPaddresses in its network that can be used by system 200. Similar to theactive IP address list 170, active IP address list 270 and second list280 may be divided into separate lists for each probe 120 ₁ to 120 _(n)and may be maintained on the server 210, maintained individually on eachprobe 120, or elsewhere in the system 200. In some embodiments, wherethe active IP address list 270 contains no IP addresses associated witha particular probe 120, then that server 210 has no way to communicatewith or control that probe 120. Presuming no other server 210 cancommunicate with that probe 120, communication will he lost and theprobe 120 will eventually revert to an un-owned or un-managed stateunless a new downstream active IP address becomes available.

The second list 280 may be an IP address exclusion list (sometimesreferred to as a black list), an IP inclusion list (sometimes referredto as a white list), or the second list 280 may include both anexclusion list and an inclusion list. Where the second list 280comprises an exclude list, IP addresses discovered by probes 120 ₁ to120 _(n) will be added to the active IP address list 270 when those IPaddresses are not included in the exclude list. Where the second list280 comprises an include list, IP addresses discovered by probes 120 ₁to 120 _(n) will be added to the active IP address list 270 when thoseIP addresses are included in the include list. Where the second list 280comprises both an include list and an exclude list, IP addressesdiscovered by probes 120 ₁ to 120 _(n) will be added to the active IPaddress list 270 when those IP addresses are included in the includelist but not included in the exclude list.

The second list 280 is configurable by the customer to add or remove IPaddresses. The second list 280 may be accessible remotely over thenetwork, outside of the network or directly from the server 210 or otherdevice maintaining the second list 280. IP addresses may be added to thesecond list 280 individually, by a range or subset of IP addresses, by aunique device name or MAC address for example where a device 130 isprovided a dynamic IP address in the network, or by various othermethods used to identify device IP addresses. IP addresses added to thesecond, list 280 may be maintained indefinitely on the list untilremoved by the customer, until expiry of a fixed time or faxed timeduration, or until other terminal conditions are satisfied.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the second list 280 provides an exclusion listmaintained by server 210. Devices 130 ₁ to 130 _(m) having IP addressesA to M have been, identified by probes 120 ₁ to 120 _(n) as active inthe network. The customer has set the exclusion list of second list 280to include IP address A. Accordingly, the active IP address list 270includes only IP addresses B, C, D to M. The system, selects an IPaddress from the active IP address list 270 and assigns it to the probe,Probes 120 ₁ to 120 _(n) can be assigned any IP address from the activeIP address list 270 that is downstream from that probe.

The system 200 identifies active IP addresses in the network that aredownstream of the probe 120 and in response, updates the first list withthe identified active IP addresses in accordance with the second list.When a response 150 from probe 120 ₁ to server 210, such as an ACKresponse, includes information identifying active IP addresses A and Bis received, none of the IP addresses that are also in. the exclude listwould be added to the active IP address list 270. When the exclude listof second list 280 is updated, the active IP list 270 is scrubbed sothat none of the IP addresses in the exclude list will he allowed toremain in the active IP address list 270. Additionally, if any of theprobes 120 ₁ to 120 _(n) are borrowing an IP address that was added tothe exclude list during die update, the use of that IP address wilt bestopped and automatic selection of a new IP address from the active IPaddress list 270 will be triggered.

Referring again to FIG. 2 where the active IP address list 270 and thesecond list 280 are maintained by server 210, if probe 120 ₁ hasborrowed. IP address A and the exclude list of second list 280 issubsequently updated to exclude: IP address A, the server 210 removes IPaddress A. from, the active IP address list 270 and transmits a commandto probe 120 ₁ instructing probe 120 ₁ to use IP address B, The probe120 ₁ intercepts the command 140, processes it, and updates its borrowedIP address accordingly. The probe 120 ₁ may then send a response 150such as an ACK response, to the server 210 using IP address B as thesource IP address.

In some embodiments, the server 210 sends a command 140 to the probe 120₁ that was borrowing for communication a now invalid IP address. Thecommand 140 specifies a destination address that has been selected fromthe active IP address list 270, such as IP address B. The probe 120 ₁intercepts and processes the command 140, borrows the IP address forcommunication and sends an ACK response 150 to the server 110 with theborrowed IP address, B, as the source address. The server 110 receivesand processes the ACK response 150. Part of the ACE response 150 mayinclude one or more new active IP addresses seen in the network by theprobe 120 ₁. If so and these new active IP addresses are not included inthe exclude list of the second list 280, the server 110 records thesenew active IP addresses in the active IP address list 270 In associationwith the probe 120 ₁.

In FIG. 3, another example embodiment of the present disclosure isillustrated within system 300. To the extent: that identical componentsof FIG. 1 and 2's systems 100, 200 are illustrated in system 300,description of those components will not be repeated.

In. FIG. 3, a server 310 having an active IP address list 370 and asecond list 380 is included in system 300. Server 310 operates similarto server 210. The second list 380 illustrated in FIG. 3 provides aninclude list or white list. The include list of the second list 380lists IP addresses which, if found to be active in the network, can beused by system 300. In the system 300, when a response 150 from a probe120 ₁ includes information identifying active IP addresses A and B, onlythose IP addresses that match an IP address in the include list will beadded to the active IP address list 380. When an IP address is removedfrom the include list, an analogous process as describe above in respectof adding a new IP address to the exclude list is executed.

Where the second list 280, 380 includes both an include list and anexclude list, newly identified active IP addresses are added to theactive IP address list 280, 380 only if they are both present in theinclude list and not present in the exclude list.

Referring to FIG. 4, an example process 400 for managing communicationin an IP network between a server and a probe that does not maintain anIP address is illustrated. Although the actions in FIG. 4 areillustrated In a sequential order, other sequences of actions arepossible as understood from the present disclosure. At 410, a first listfor storing IP addresses is maintained on the customer's IP network. TheIP addresses in this first list may be borrowed by the probe forcommunication with the server on top of the IP protocol. At 420, asecond list for storing IP addresses is maintained on the customer's IPnetwork. The IP addresses in this second list restrict the IP addresseswhich may be added to the first list. The second list comprises at leastone of a black list of IP addresses to exclude from the first list and awhite list of all IP addresses permitted on the first list. The IPaddresses of the black list are IP addresses which the customer hasspecified are not to be borrowed by a probe. The IP addresses of thewhite list are IP addresses which the customer has specified can beborrowed if those IP addresses are active In the network. At 430, activeIP addresses that are downstream of the probe in the network areidentified. Identification may be achieved directly by the server,individually by each probe in the network, or by other networkmonitoring devices. In response to identifying an active IP address, at440, the first list is updated with the identified active IP addressesin accordance with the second list. If the identified active IPaddresses are already present in the first list, no changes arenecessary. If active IP addresses not included in the first list wereidentified, the second list is consulted. The mechanisms by which thesecond list restricts which IP addresses can be added to the first listhave been described above in respect of FIGS. 2 and 3. If the secondlist does not restrict against adding the active IP address to the firstlist, the active IP address is added to the first list.

At 450 an IP address is selected from the first list for assignment to aprobe. At 460, the selected IP address is assigned to the probe. Forexample, the server may issue a command, to the probe indicating thatthe probe must borrow the selected IP address. In other embodiments, theprobe may inform, the server that if is now borrowing the selected IPaddress. If at any time, an IP address on the first list becomesinvalid, it is removed from the first list. If that invalid. IP addresswas being borrowed, by a probe, reassignment of another IP address from,the first list would be initiated. Reassignment of another IP addressmay also be necessary when the second list is updated such as by addingan. IP address to the black list or removing an IP address from thewhite list.

As known to a person skilled in the art, the network, server, controlsystem, probes, devices and other computer features described in thisdisclosure may be implemented in hardware, software or a combination ofboth. They may form part of an independent, distributed, share or otherconfiguration of computing elements capable of storing, accessing,reading and executing transitory and/or non-transitory computerinstructions.

We claim:
 1. A method for managing communication in an IP networkbetween a server and a probe that does not maintain an IP address, themethod comprising; providing a first list for storing IP addresses forborrowing fey the probe; providing a second list for storing at leastone of a black list of IP addresses to exclude from the first list, anda white list of all IP addresses permitted on the first list;identifying active IP addresses In the network that are downstream ofthe probe; in response to identifying active IP addresses, updating thefirst list with the identified active IP addresses in accordance withthe second list; selecting an IP address from the first list; andassigning the selected IP address to the probe for communication withthe server on top of the IP protocol.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: scrubbing the first list in response to at least one ofadding an IP address to the black list and removing an IP address fromthe white list; and if the IP address assigned to the probe was scrubbedfrom the first list, assigning another IP address to the probe from thefirst list for communication with the server on top of the IP protocol.3. The method of claim 1 further comprising: identifying an IP addressesin the network that has become invalid; removing the invalid IP addressfrom the first list if the first list contains the invalid IP address;and assigning another IP address from the first list to the probe if theinvalid IP address was assigned to the probe.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein updating the first list with the identified active IP addressesin accordance with the second list comprises: when the second list is ablack list, adding to the first list any identified active IP addressthat is not included in the black list; when the second list is a whitelist, adding to the first list any identified active IP address that isincluded in the white list; and when the second list comprises both ablack list and a white list, adding to the first list any identified IPaddress that is not included in the black list but is included in thewhite list.
 5. The method, of claim 1 further comprising providing thefirst list and the second list on the server.
 6. The method of claim 1wherein identifying active IP addresses in the network that aredownstream of the probe comprises: identifying, by the probe, a devicedownstream of the probe that has an active IP address in the network;and sending the identified active IP address to the server.
 7. Themethod of claim 1 wherein assigning the selected IP address to the probefor communication with the server on top of the IP protocol comprises:sending to the probe a command including the selected IP address as thedestination IP address; intercepting the command at the probe; and inresponse to intercepting the command, assigning the selected IP addressas the IP address borrowed by the probe.
 8. The method of claim 7further comprising: after intercepting the command at the probe, sendingfrom the probe a response including the selected IP address as thesource IP address.
 9. A system for managing communication in an IPnetwork comprising: a probe that does not maintain an IP address in thenetwork; and a server including: a first list for storing IP addressesfor borrowing by the probe; a second list for storing at least one of ablack list of IP addresses to exclude from the first list and a whitelist of all IP addresses permitted on the first list; and non-transitorycomputer executable instructions for: updating die first list inaccordance with the second list when, an active IP address downstream ofthe probe is identified, selecting an IP address from the first list;and assigning the selected IP address to the probe for communicationwith the server on top of the IP protocol.
 10. The system of claim 9wherein the server includes further non-transitory computer executableinstructions for: scrubbing the first list in response to at least oneof adding an IP address to the black list and removing an IP addressfrom the white list; and if the IP address assigned to the probe wasscrubbed from the first list, assigning another IP address to the probefrom the first list for communication with the server on top of the IPprotocol.
 11. The system of claim 9 wherein the server includes furthernon-transitory computer executable instructions for: identifying an IPaddresses in the network that has become invalid; removing the invalidIP address from the first list if the first list contains the invalid IPaddress; and assigning another IP address from the first list to theprobe if the invalid IP address was assigned to the probe.
 12. Thesystem of claim 9 wherein the non-transitory computer executableinstruction for updating the first list with the identified active IPaddresses in accordance with the second list comprises furthernon-transitory computer executable Instructions for; when the secondlist is a black list, adding to the first list any identified active IPaddress that is not included in the black list; when the second list isa white list, adding to the first list any identified active IP addressthat is included in the white list; and when the second list comprisesboth a black list and a white list, adding to the first list anyidentified IP address that is not included in the black list but isincluded in the white list.
 13. The system of claim 9 wherein the probeincludes non-transitory computer executable instructions for:identifying an active IP address of a device downstream of the probe;and sending the identified active IP address to the server.
 14. Thesystem of claim 9 wherein the non-transitory computer executableinstruction for assigning the selected IP address to the probe comprisesfurther non-transitory computer executable instructions for sending tothe probe a command including the selected IP address as the destinationIP address; and wherein the probe comprises non-transitory computerexecutable instructions for; intercepting the command and assigning theselected IP address as the IP address borrowed by the probe.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14 wherein the probe comprises further non-transitorycomputer executable instructions for: after intercepting the command,sending a response including the selected IP address as the source IPaddress.
 16. A method for controlling the communications in an IPnetwork between a server and one or more probes that do not haveassigned IP addresses, the method comprising: providing a communicationmeans between the server and the probes based on a protocol that rideson top of the IP protocol using IP addresses that are borrowed from IPaddresses used for communication on the network; providing the serverwith a control system comprising: means to monitor automatically thenetwork In order to collect active IP addresses that are used on thenetwork; means to form a list of active IP addresses for each probe faruse in communication between the server and the probes; means to drop anIP address from the list of active IP addresses should it become aninvalid IP address for communication on the network and wherein: thecontrol system is provided with an exclude list of IP addresses and;means to drop from, any list of active IP addresses any IP address thatis on the exclude list and; means to prevent adding an IP address thatis on the exclude list to the list of active IP addresses for theprobes.